St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-05-14
Railroads Whose Interests Lead Them
to Discriminate More or Less .
Against the Twins.
Their Policy Seemingly Opposed to
Building Up Two Great CONNER
cial Centers Here.
Six Roads Are Said to Be For U.s. and
Seven Arrayed Against Our
Interests.
Everything for the Long Haul---A Bob
tail Transit Now Offered by One
of Them. 49,.

The millers and commission men of
Minneapolis are studying the railroad
situation with keen interest, and are
very outSpoken in their commentator
of the course of some of the roads and
their condemnation of the policy of
others. They have reached the conclu-
sion that the Milwaukee, Rock Island
and Northwestern systems adhere to
policies that are inimical to the interests
OF Minneapolis and st. Paul, and that
the Wisconsin Central, Minneapolis Il
Pacific, Manitoba, Minnesota 81 North
western, Burlington and the Northern
Pacific, having interests identical
with those Of the Twin Cities, have
adopted and will adhere to policies IA
vorable to them. The Milwaukee sys-
tenn, for instance, is opposed TO building
up great commercial centers n. these
ors to prevent their becoming
chief distributing points. The rea-
sons for this are obvious. These
cities are not terminals for this road, but
are midway along its line, dividing the
eastern and western systems and pre-
senting lively competition on each. The
road will use every endeavOr to get the
longest haul possible Oh all products and
merchandise going East and West and
to prevent consignments to Minneapo-
lis or st. Paul going i'll either direction.
For instance, the natural point of con-
sumption OF distribution of all wheat
grown IN Minnesota and Dakota, is III
the East; the Milwaukee road brings it
here from Dakota and will, if possible,
prevent this point from receiving it as
distributor, with the chance of the re-
malnder of the haul to Chicago or to
Duluth being on some other line. Its
theory will be the
ONE THROUGH HAUL
from the fartheSt western to the farthest
eastern point on its line. The same is
true of merchandise coming west. What
the road gets at Chicago, destined for
the far northwest, it will desire to keep
on its line as far as the line extends,
and will object to unloading at Mime
apoliS or st. Paul, for distribution, where
other roads come into competition. This
is true not only of the Manitoba, but of
the Rock Island and Northwestern
systems, all three being on the same
basis, with respect to these cities, viz:
they run through here to points father
three roads will naturally adhere to
policy that will oppose building up
great commercial and distributing cen
tiers at Minneapolis and st. Paul.
No blame attaches to them
for such a policy, which
is eminentIy natural one. The Omaha
road, if left to itself, would favor the
Twin Cities, and so would the Minneap-
lis IL ST. Louis, but each of them is but
part of great system stretching out
on each side of us. They are the tails,
and the Eastern divisions are the dogs
that wag them. The other six roads are
occupying a different position. The
Wisconsin Central, Burlington and Min
neSota d Northern find their eastern
terminus III these two cities, and the
Manitoba, Northern Pacific and Mime
apOliS and Northern Pacific have their
western terminii here. Their natural
policy is to favor whatever tends to
build up commercial and distributing
centers here. TO obtain the hauls the
full lengths of their lines freights must
start or end at these cities.
HOW THEY DO IN CHICAGO.
"Of course" said chamber of COM
merce man yesterday, 1--WE do not blame
those roads whose interests lead them to
oppose our interests, but we can do as
they do i'll Chicago. The Freight assO-
citation there has issued circulars to all
of the jobbers calling attention to the
fact that under the long and short haul
clause, rates from Chicago to all points
in Northwest Wisconsin and Central
and Southern Minnesota are lower from
Chicago, even for little longer distances
than they are from Chicago to these
places via Minneapolis and st. Paul,
plus local rates. Shippers here should
remember in whose interest this is done
and use little judgment, other things
being equal, in selecting lines for ship
ment."
Since the kick by the Minneapolis
chamber of commerce against the Mil
waukee and Omaha roads, both have
come TO time. The latter will discon-
tinue transit rates entirely and the
| former will issue new transit for Min
neapolis and st. Paul. This latter is
called ''bobtailed transit" because it
| knocks out wheat Oh the Chicago end of
| the haul. Under this wheat unloaded
| to mill in transit cannot be reloaded ex-
cept as the product of wheat in flour or
millstuff. Wheat does not go, but as
there is no discrimination no objection
is raised, and though the style is not
satisfactory to shippers, the chamber
| finds its demand satisfied:
| WHAT THE GRAIN MEN WANT,
says the Market Record, is rate from
Minneapolis to local mills along the
lines of all the roads running east and
south from this city that are reasonable,
or rates that they can do business on.
| Such rates they have not got now. For
| instance, suppose Minneapolis COM
mission man gets an order from miller
between here and Chicago for car of
wheat to be milled in transit, on either
the Milwaukee, the Chicago & North
western or the Omaha lines. The rate
would be 1Scper 100 pounds. Then ulp-
pose a similar order is sent by the same
miller to a point west of MINNEAPOLIS.
and on the line the mill is located,
the wheat goes through on the
basis of the local rate to Mime
apolis and to 719c added for the mill
ing in transit rate from Minneapolis to
Chicago. That is difference of say
lie against the Minneapolis shipper as
compared with the shipper from the in
terror. If a car of wheat is shipped
from the west of here to Chicago on the
Milwaukee line and billed ''to be milled
III transit at Minneapolis it is unloaded
here, reloaded in the form of flour and
feed and goes through to Chicago at a
rate of say SOC per 100 pounds. If the
same car is unl0aded here and reloaded
to go through as wheat it costs the addi-
tiOnal lie, or say 41c per 100 pounds.
That road holds to the theory that
wheat is destined to the far East for a
market, and insist that when once in its
possession it shall not 90 out until
landed at its Lake Michigan terminus.
THE BISHOPS RECEPTION.